Bright Star
by DispatchesFromDistrict7
Summary: On a cold winter's night, two souls wish upon a star. Modern AU/Fantasy. Thank you to Ro Nordmann (Ro-Little-Shop-of-Wonders on tumblr) for the gorgeous banner.


_On this cold winter's night, a bright star shined down upon the earth watching, listening, waiting. Being recently born she shined most bright in the sky for all those that looked up as she had yet to fulfill any human wishes. Thousands of wishes had already floated up to her delicate little ears, but she heeded the advice of the older stars, the ones who twinkled and the ones that had grown dim, to be careful for she should not be too hasty and she should not try to grant every wish she heard._

_So she watched. For while a star could grant many wishes, they could only grant their first wish once and the power of that wish foretold of the length of their new life. Wishes granted carelessly could shorten the life of a star causing them to fall from the sky while trying to grant one final powerful wish. But, wishes granted judiciously could allow a star to continue to twinkle on, even when her brightness diminished to a point where humans could no longer see her. Those stars were the most powerful for their unseen twinkle would allow them to answer wishes that went unasked._

_So she listened. She heard careless wishes for grand trips and new cars. Those were easy to discard. She heard heartbreaking wishes of friends and family of the sick and the dying. She was not powerful enough to grant those wishes and in some cases, even the strongest of stars could not work a miracle. Some damage was permanent. Once a back was broken, there was no healing. Gunshots could not be undone. The thought made her shake her head in sadness and anger and she closed her eyes to the world for a moment. Why must humans be so careless and destructive! Those wishes made her cry, a stray tear rolling down her cheek, because even the old star Mags could not help for they did not have the power to turn back the clock._

_When the decision seemed to be impossible, she reminded herself of the guidance that a star named Theron gave when she arrived, "You must trust that your head and your heart will guide you. If you listen to both you cannot go wrong." Upon hearing those words, she felt a shiver move through her as his words held a familiar ring, perhaps an echo from her previous life._

_So she waited, showing patience that she was sure she must have lacked when she was one of the humans. She knew she needed to get this exactly right. Then she heard them. Two wishes voiced rose to her ears at the exact same moment and her heart burned a bit brighter. The pleas of a lonely young man and a scared young woman rang clearly through the night. She could only grant one wish and she knew which one to choose._

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><p>"Fuck! Shit! Damn it!" she swore as she pounded on the wheel as her car slid to a stop. She knew she should have stopped for gas in the last town. "Fuckin' broken gas gauge," she yelled as she slammed her hands across the wheel of her beat up Toyota Tercel one last time before leaning back and closing her eyes. She tried to remember how far back was the town—a mile, maybe two. It was too cold to stay in the car, and the snow had finally stopped, so now was the time to try walking. Stepping out of the car, she was grateful that at least she had the presence of mind to put on her boots before leaving. Trudging through the snow in her Chucks would have really sucked.<p>

She carefully stepped to the back of the car and opened the trunk retrieving the small roller bag that she had hurriedly packed not five hours before. She looked at the rest of her belongings and decided to grab only her father's bow and quiver before closing the trunk. Everything else could wait until she got a tow truck.

"How the fuck am I going to afford a damn tow truck?" she muttered as she kicked a tire in frustration, regretting not taking the time to fill up when she had the chance. Despite her inclination, something had stopped her and she kept driving.

She began stumbling her way down the road back toward the little town she had passed not five minutes before. Normally snow would not hinder her one bit, but the wheels on the damn roller bag kept catching. Perhaps she should have left that as well.

About an hour later, she finally made it to the town. There didn't seem to be any motels from what she could see. Just a closed grocery, typical small town businesses, a lonely gas station, what looked to be an open roadhouse, and a church.

Considering her options and the limited supply of cash in her pocketbook she made her way over to the church and prayed the doors were unlocked. She was so tired and all she really wanted to do was lay down and sleep in one of the back pews.

Luck would have it that the door was open. She entered the vestibule and quietly made her way into the sanctuary, which was still brightly lit by candles and decorated in holiday greens. Someone else must still be in the church somewhere, so she took a seat in a pew and waited hoping that it would be a kind soul who could help a girl out on Christmas Eve.

She must have nodded off because the next thing she knew someone was shaking her awake.

"Good Morning Sweetheart."

"It's not morning," she mumbled groggily.

"Well, technically, yes it is. it's five minutes after midnight. Merry Christmas."

She just nodded, still trying to wake up.

"I'm Father Abernathy but most people just call me Haymitch or Father Haymitch. I'm not too formal. What is your name?"

"Katniss. Katniss Everdeen."

"Well Katniss. I'm about to lock up. Is there some place you can go? I can't help but notice your suitcase."

"My car died."

"Well that's poor luck. Where were you heading?"

"Um. Anywhere. Nowhere. I don't know."

Katniss couldn't believe she admitted this. She really had no clue where she was going. She just knew she needed to leave. Tonight, it felt imperative for her to do so. She was suffocating.—the city, the memories, everything—seemed to have a strangle hold on her. Things she had once loved, had once found exciting, had turned into something else, something ugly. She just needed to be able to able to breathe once more. So she packed her bag, loaded up the trunk of her car, arranged care for her sister's damn cat and left. Once her decision was made, it took less than two hours to hit the road. Now several hours later she was in the middle of nowhere with only the cash in her wallet, which wouldn't last very long. She silently berated herself for not thinking this through.

"So after you get your car fixed where are you heading back to?"

"I don't know that either," she paused before asking, "This is a church isn't it? Aren't you supposed to be open all the time?

"Well, sweetheart, this is a little town on a country road. Most people who need to talk to me at night know where else to find me. Nevertheless, I do leave emergency contact numbers near the door, just in case someone like you drops by. As much as I'd like to keep the doors unlocked all the time, without someone on premises, in this day and age that's just not very smart. Well, it sounds like you're open to suggestions as to where to go next and you can't stay here tonight, so I have an idea. Why don't you come with me and I'll buy you a drink at the roadhouse. We'll talk. They have the best burger in town. Besides, my wife won't know if I'm a bit late; she's probably sleeping like a log and won't wake until morning."

Katniss raised her eyebrow. "How do I know you are who you say you are? Also priests can't marry."

"Sweetheart, did you not read the sign outside? This isn't a Catholic church. Episcopal priests can indeed marry. We also can be women and gay. We're progressive that way," he said with a wry smile. "Anyway grab your things and follow me."

Haymitch walked toward the front of the church and doused the last of the candles.

Katniss slung her quiver on her back and grabbed her bow and bag before following him. She trusted him for some reason, which was odd because it wasn't something she did very often.

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><p>"<em>I don't think that an empty fuel tank is quite what that young woman had in mind," snarked a brilliant bronze colored star.<em>

"_Hush," Mags responded, "We need to trust that our little star knows what she's doing. Give her a chance like I did in you not so long ago."_

_The bright star beamed at the elder's support. What she had done would work out in the end she just knew it. But they needed to be patient. Granted wishes were gifts and sometimes the wish that is asked is not the wish the heart truly desires. Charles Dudley Warner once wrote, "The excellence in a gift lies in its appropriateness and not its value." She always loved that quote and her gift was the right choice. They just needed to give it time to play out._

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><p>The young man pinched the bridge of his nose and poured himself another cup of coffee. He was ready to close up for the night but a few regulars remained. They were the ones that had formed a ragtag bit of found family within the confines of the roadhouse. Otherwise, things were quiet, not unusual for a holiday in Panem.<p>

He heard the tinkle of the bell as the door opened and saw the reflection of his friend in the mirror behind the bar.

"Hey Haymitch! Your regular?" he called.

"Yes, Peeta. And a menu for my friend here."

Peeta then noticed the slight girl behind his friend. She was looking down trying to fix her bag, which had been stuck on some old tile.

He poured a couple fingers of Johnnie Walker Black into an old-fashioned glass handing the drink to Haymitch before giving a menu to the girl—no , the woman—who had sat down next to him.

Katniss mumbled, "Thank you," as she looked up and he was caught in her quicksilver eyes.

A blush crept up his cheeks when he realized he was staring, so he quickly turned away and muttered, "No problem. I'll be back in a few minutes to take your order," before making a hasty retreat toward the other side of the restaurant.

Peeta went to check on the remaining customers and closed out a couple's bill before returning and taking the woman's order for a Coke and cheeseburger. He quickly made his way to the kitchen and fixed up the burger, returning with it and her drink about ten minutes later.

"So Peeta, it looks like you're by yourself tonight," Haymitch observes.

"It's been quiet. We had a rush before your service for dinner but the rest of the night just a few folks, which turned out to be lucky since Annie had to rush home for the night to take care of the baby. I really need to work on hiring another person to help out."

Something lit up in Katniss' eyes before she offers quietly, "I was a waitress and I have my bartending license in this state."

"Really? Are you looking for a job?"

Her lips pursed as she considered, "For now. I'm not sure how long I'll be staying here but I'd be willing to help out until you find someone more permanent."

A grin slowly spread across Peeta's face, "That would be great. Can you start the day after tomorrow?" Realizing he knew nothing about her other than that she possessed two of the prettiest grey eyes he'd ever seen, he quickly added, "Oh, and what is your name?"

"Sure, and it's Katniss."

"Nice to meet you Katniss, I'm Peeta Mellark, but you can just call me Peeta. So where can I contact you? I'll go get the application form from the office so that we can have your information on file."

Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened in panic causing Peeta's brows to furrow.

Haymitch rescued them by saying, "Well, my friend here needs a place to stay. Are you still renting out the old Airstream out back?"

"Yes, it's been empty for a while but it's available for $200 a month."

"I'll take it," Katniss responds before she had a chance to think twice about it.

"Great. However, if you don't mind, you can bunk in my guest room upstairs tonight. I promise I'm not some crazy dude. We can get the old trailer warmed up and cleaned tomorrow…or I guess later today."

Katniss appraised him and must have finally agreed with his assessment that he was indeed _not_ a serial killer for she gave a small nod and whispered, "Okay," before asking, "But it's Christmas, don't you have plans?"

"Now I do," Peeta smiled back at her.

"Well, I need to be going or Jo's going to kick my ass tomorrow morning, especially since I said I'd take care of the stockings." Haymitch h said as he threw a few bills onto the bar. "I think you both can manage the rest of the details."

As Haymitch walked out into the snow, he looked up and spotted a bright star that twinkled smiling in satisfaction.

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><p><strong>Please take a moment to review this fic if you loved it or if you have constructive criticism. Reviews are the only way for me to know if there is something I need to try to fix or if my work is eliciting the feelings I hope to create.<strong>

**Thank you to my Honeylime08 for betaing the first version of this chapter which appeared in the Write Me A Story Hunger Games Challenge (wmashgchallenge on tumblr). I hope you like the additions I've made in this revised chapter.**

**Speaking of the challenge go check it out. There are a lot of wonderful fics on that tumblr.**

**If you'd like more information about my fanfiction please visit my tumblr: dispatchesfromdistrict7**

**The characters are the property of the amazing Suzanne Collins and do not belong to me. You probably also have noticed I'll occasionally weave in one of the famous lines from her novels. Those totally belong to Ms. Collins too.**


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